Toy.



C. F. BLACK.

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2. 191B.

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. BLACK.

TOY.

APPLICATlON FILED FEB. 2. 1918.

Patented July 9, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 CHARLES 1?. BLACK, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO DAVID P.CLARK, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

TOY.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, CHARLES F. BLACK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Toys, ofwhich thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawing.

- This invention relates to toys, and more particularly to a toy havinga movable part which can be operated by a suitable actuating device, andcan be maintained in continuous movement by repeated operations of saidactuating device.

The invention is an improvement upon the toy shown and described inPatent No. 1,242,194, granted to J. E. Jewell on October 29, 1917, whichpatent is now owned by David P. Clark, assignee of the presentinvention. In the toy of the patent the actuating device comprises adrum to which is connected a strip of elastic and about which is wound acord whichserves to place the elastic under tension so that when :thecord is released the elastic will operate the movable part ofthe toy.

The object of the present invention is to provide a toy of this kindwhich will be very simple in its construction and operation, and whichwill have its parts of such acharacter and so arranged that the severalparts can be easily made and assembled, and that neither the making ofthe parts northe assembling of the devicewill require a high degree ofaccuracy, thus enabling the toy to be manufactured at a low cost.

' It is also an object of the invention to so construct the toy that itwillbe very durable and will have no parts which will be easily broken,or disarranged, in the normal operation of the toy.

It is also an object of the invention to so construct the toy that thepower will be applied by the operator directly to the movable partwithout first'storing the same in the spring, or other device.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a side elevation, partly insection, of a toy embodying my'invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional viewtaken on the line 22 of Fig. 1 showing the movable-part of the toy indotted lines; Fig. 3 is a perspective detail Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented July 9, 1918.

view, partly broken away, of the actuating mechanism; Fig. is a sideelevation of a slightly modified form of the toy; and Fig. 5 is asectional view taken on-the line 55 of Fig. 4.

In these drawings I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention andhave shown the same as comprising a part to be operated, or movablemember, 1, which in the present instance is in the form of a rotatableplatform having mounted thereon a series of figures. This part to beoperated is connected with, and in the present instance is rigidlysecured to a shaft 2, which is journaled in a suitable supportingstructure. In that form of the toy here shown the shaft and itsoperating devices are mounted within a casing 3 which is preferablycylindrical in form and may be open at its upper end. The shaft isjournaled at its upper end in a transverse bar 4 extending across thecasing 3, and is journaled in its lower end in a step bearing 5 securedto the bottom of the casing 3. The lower end of the shaft is tapered, asshown at 6, and rests upon a bearing plate 7 arranged beneath the stepbearing 5. This construction is such that the bearings in the parts 4and 5 may be simply openings formed in the sheet metal, of which theseparts are formed. The bearing plate 7 constitutes a thrust bearing whichreceives the weight of the shaft and the end of the shaft isreduced toavery small diameter so that there will be very little friction betweenthe shaft and its bearing, and that it will revolve very freely. Looselymounted upon the shaft is a pinion 8 which is preferably connected withthe shaft by means of anoverrunning clutch which will cause the shaft torotate with the pinion when the latter is rotated in one direction, butwill permit the pinion to rotate in the opposite direction indepentently of the shaft. In that form of the device here illustrated thisclutch comprises a ratchet wheel 9 rigidly secured to the pinion andhaving its teeth extending upwardly from the edges thereof so that theyextend lengthwise of 'the shaft. A suitable pawl is mounted on the shaftto cooperate with the ratchet wheel, this pawl being so arranged thatwhen the ratchet wheel moves in one direction the teeth will engage thepawl and cause the same to rotate therewith, and when the ratchet wheelrotates in the opposite direction the teeth thereof will elevatev thepawl and movepast the same. As

here shown the pawl comprises a cross arm 10 mounted on the shaft andextending transversely of the ratchet wheel 9, its two end portionsbeing arranged to engage the teeth on the opposite sides of the ratchetwheel. This pawl, or cross arm, is so connected with the shaft 2 thatthe shaft will irotatetherewith, but the cross arm .w-illbe capable ofvertical movement relatively .to

' the shaftvto permit it to rideover the-teeth of the ratchet wheel.-This maybe accomplished in various ways, but for ease of manufacture'andpositive operation I have formed the connection by meansof a plate :1 1,=which is rigidly secured to the shaft 2 above the cross-arm 10, and isprovided on its opposite sides with depending lugs 12 spaced apart toreceive between them the shape and is mounted on a shaft let journaledat its upperend in a bearing in the cross bar 1, and at its lower end ina step bearing 15 secured to the bottom of the casing 3. Rigidly securedto the segmental rack and projecting beyond the shaft let is anactuating member, or thumb piece, 16, which extends through a slot 17 inthe side wall-of the casing, and :is adapted to be en gaged and operatedby the thumb of the operator. If desired a finger piece 18 maybe securedto the casing 3 at one end of the slot so that it may be grasped by thefinger of the operator while the thumb engages the thumb piece 16. Thusit will be apparent that the movement of the segment about its axis bymeans of the actuating member 16 will cause the same to rotate thepinion 8 in a direction to actuate the shaft 2 and the movable part 1 ofthe toy. The momentum thusimparted to the movable part 1 of :the toywill be sufficient to cause the same to continue to rotate for aconsiderable period after the movement of the toothed rack, or

segment, 13, has been completed. After the completion of its movementthe rack may be returned to its normal position either manually, orautomatically. As here shown a spring 19 is connected with the segmentand with the wall of the casing and serves to annoted that when thesegment is in its normal position the teeth thereof are out of mesh withthe teeth of the pinion 8 and this pinion is therefore permitted torotate with the shaft, thus not only eliminating the fr ction due to therotation of the shaft within the pinion and the movement of the pawl 10over the ratchet teeth, but also eliminating ,the noise incident to themovement of the pawl over the ratchet teeth. In the present devicea'stop 20 is provided to limit the movement of the pinion in itsoperative direction, but obviously :the movement of the segment may :becontrolled .in any (desired manner. 7

While I ;prefer that .the power should be applied directly itO themechanism -:by :the

operator, :in the manner above described,

this same mechanismmay, if desired,;be used .for first storingithe.power in :a spring and then applying it to the operating mechanism by.means ofthespring. To ,accomplish'this 1 .there will be .no :change inthe .mechanism itself, but a spring 21 will be so connected with thesegment 113 .as to .move the same in its operative direction, as shown5111 Fig. 5.

This spring will serve to .normally retain :the segment and consequentlytheactuating member 16 in positions opposite thoseshown in .Fig. 2, andto operate thedevicethe seg mentv-is first retracted againstthe:ten'sion of the spring in a directionto .cause the ratchet wheel toride over its pawl .and thenre- .leasedto permit the spring to.movegthesame to continue its movement for :a long period after thesegment has been returned to its normal position. Because of thecharacter of the bearings and the small amount of friction on the shaft2 the movable part will continue to rotate for a relatively long period,andby repeating the operation .of'

the segment at intervalslthe movable part can be caused .to rotatecontinuously as long 7 as'desired.

It will be noted that not only is the construction of the mechanism suchas to ,sub-

ject the shaft carrying the movable part to have :little friction, butthat the-several parts are such that they an be very easily made fromsheet metal',.an'd that there are no close fits between the-parts, or.fine adjustment-s which require accurate worlc Consequently the devicecan be made by ordinary labor without any liability of its beinginoperative when completed because of inaccuracies in manufacturing, orassembling the same.

While I haveshown and described one embodiment of my invention I wish itto be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the details ofconstruction as various modifications will occur to a person skilled inthe art.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a toy a vertically arranged shaft, a part to be operated connectedwith said shaft, a pinion loosely mounted on said shaft, a toothed wheelrigidly secured to said pinion, a member mounted on said shaft forvertical movement relatively thereto, said member being held againstrotation relatively to said shaft and having a part cooperating withsaid toothed wheel to establish a connection between said pinion andsaid shaft, said part and the teeth of said wheel being so arranged thatwhen said pinion rotates in one direction said part will operativelyengage one of said teeth, and when sai pinion rotates in the otherdirection said member will be moved lengthwise of said shaft to permitsaid part to ride over said teeth, and a toothed rack to actuate saidpinion.

2. In a toy, a part to be operated, a shaft connected with said part, apinion loosely mounted on said shaft, a ratchet wheel rigidly secured tosaid pinion and having its teeth extending lengthwise of said shaft, apart mounted on said shaft for vertical movement relatively thereto andheld against rotation relatively thereto, said part being arranged toengage the teeth of said ratchet wheel to connect the same with saidshaft, a toothed rack arranged to mesh with said pinion, and a fingerpiece connected with said rack to actuate the same.

3. In a toy, a part to be operated, a shaft connected with said part, apinion loosely mounted on said shaft, a ratchet wheel rigidly secured tosaid pinion and having upwardly extending teeth, a cross arm looselymounted on said shaft above said ratchet wheel and extendingtransversely to the latter, a plate rigidly secured to said shaft andhaving depending lugs arranged to embrace said cross arm and cause saidshaft to ro-' tate therewith, and to permit said cross arm to movelcngthwiseof said shaft independently thereof, a toothed rack arrangedto mesh with said pinion, and means to actuate said rack.

4. In a toy, a part to be operated, a shaft connected with said part, apinion loosely mounted on said shaft, an overrunning clutch connectionbetween said pinion and said shaft, a toothed rack arranged to actuatesaid pinion, a finger piece to move said rack in one direction, and aspring to move said rack in the opposite direction.

5. In a toy,-a casing, a shaft mounted on said casing, apart to beoperated arranged eyond said casing and connected with said shaft, apinion loosely mounted on said shaft, an over-running clutch connectionbetween said pinion and said shaft, a toothed segment pivotally mountedwithin said casing and arranged to mesh with said pinion, and a fingerpiece connected within said segment and extending beyond said casing.

6. In a toy, a casing, a shaft mounted on said casing, a part to beoperated arranged beyond said casing and connected with said shaft, apinion loosely mounted on said shaft, an overrunning clutch connectionbetween said pinion and said shaft, a toothed segment pivotally mountedwithin said casing and arranged to mesh with said pinion,

.a finger piece connected with said segment and extending beyond saidcasing to move said segment in one direction, and a spring to move saidsegment in the other direction.

7 In a toy, a casing, a shaft mounted in said casing, a part to beoperated arranged beyond said casing and connected with said shaft, apinion loosely mounted on said shaft, an overrunning clutch connectionbetween said pinion and said shaft, a toothed segment pivotally mountedin said casing and arranged to mesh with said pin ion, manually operatedmeans for moving said segment in a direction to actuate said movablepart of said toy, and means to automatically return said segment to itsnormal position.

8. In a toy, a casing, a shaft mounted in said casing, a part to beoperated arranged beyond said casing and connected with said shaft, apinion loosely mounted on said shaft, an overrunning clutch connectionbetween said pinion and said shaft, a toothed segment pivotally mountedin said casing and arranged to mesh with said pinion, means to move saidsegment in a direction to actuate said operable part of said toy andreturn the same to its normal position, said segment being so arrangedwith relation to said pinion that when the segment is in its normalposition its teeth will be out of engagement with said pinion.

9. In a toy, a casing, a cross bar mounted in said casing near the topthereof, a bearing supported within said casing near the bottom thereof,a shaft loosely mounted in said bearing and having its lower end supported on the bottom of said casing, a part to be operated connectedwith said shaft, a pinion loosely mounted on said shaft, a clutchconnection between said pinion and said shaft, a toothed rack arrangedto engage said pinion, and means to actuate said rack.

10. In a toy, a casing, a cross bar mounted in said casing and having anopening there- 5 in, a step bearing mounted in said casing in alinenientWith the opening in said cross bar, a bearing plate arranged beneathsaidstep bearing, a shaft extending through said opening and said stepbearing, and having a 10 tapered lower end resting upon said bearingplate, a pinion looseljyiniounted on said shaft, an overrunning clutchconnection between said pinion and said shaft, a'toothed rack to actuatesaidpinion, manually operated means for aetu atingsaidraclgand a part 15to be operated conneoted with said shaft;

In testimony whereof, I afiix signature hereto.

CHARLES F. BLACK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained forfive cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 13.0.

